Thoril Stonehammer
The Apprentice Smith When the clanless Thoril first arrived to Kal-Ordo, the great Hollow Kingdom of the Dwarves, he had much difficulty acquiring an apprenticeship as a smith, until he arrived at the shop of Brogar Silverhammer. Now Brogar was a shrewd business-dwarf, and had an eye for talent, even if he had none himself (though this last was not generally known). And given that his last apprentice had recently “mysteriously” disappeared, he found himself in need of another. So Brogar went though the difficult and costly process of adopting Thoril into the Silverhammer Clan. And he was not disappointed in his gamble, for Thoril advanced in smith-craft at a prodigious rate. So much so that the Mark of Brogar's shop became synonymous with the highest quality of goods. It even looked like Brogar (who peddled Thoril's handiwork as his own) was on his way to being honored with a Thane-ship for his craft. As for Thoril? He was content to receive excellent pay for his work and continue uninterrupted in his smithing, for nothing seemed to sate him as did the swing of his hammer on hot steel. But one day, during one of the weekly assaults that plagued the edges of Kal-Ordo, something penetrated deep into the heart of the city and murdered Torgthar, the son of the Chief of the Thanes, Ragthar Goldenhelm. Eye witness accounts varied, some saying it was shaped as a dwarf, other claiming it was like an elf, still others that it was dragon-kin. But all agreed its skin was so dark that it seemed to absorb the light, and it moved with a speed and agility that belied mortal powers. As terrifying as this sounds, however, the nature of the creature was considered of secondary importance to the weapon it used. For the weapons recovered from the attackers and the dagger that the mysterious creature thrust through the eye of Torgthar bore the mark of the Silverhammers, specifically of Brogar's shop. When Brogar was arrested on charges of arms-dealing to enemies of the Dwarves, he claimed that he had no knowledge of any arms-dealing, but he “volunteered” that he received far less work out of Thoril than was standard, and that his apprentice seemed to have no shortage of money. Thoril was brought in for questioning, and his quarters were searched; the large sums of gold corroborated Brogars accusation, and evidence was shortly found that all but proved that Thoril must have been selling to mysterious individuals from the caverns without. Given no chance to defend himself before the Council, Thoril was cast into Nogrod, the highest security prison of Kal-Ordo, to rot until his beard should fall out. And there he remained for almost a year, despairing and bemoaning his fate, until he had a vision: In this vision, he saw Valkauna, Lady of the Forge, smelting and hammering at the most beautiful forge he had ever seen. In the background, a figure lay in repose upon a large stone alter. As he stood there gaping, Valkauna noticed him, and gestured him forward. She then spoke, “Welcome, Smith, to the Hall of the King. You have gained a small measure of skill in my art. I have need of apprentices, to aid me in preparing the Arms and Armaments of Stone. If you would be my apprentice, find my forge in the North.” With that, Thoril awoke with a fire in his heart, a burning desire to escape. Within a week, he concocted a plan, leveraged the bars of his cell, and successfully escaped. On the run, he crossed the Thresh river and arrived in Alistair's Landing with nothing but the clothes on his back, and a silver spoon with an engraved "M" that he found in his cell. Stonehammer, Dwarven Cleric of the Forge 1, Liam A.